Grease the word for Marian Catholic College

After the success of previous musicals The Wiz and Fame, director Don Hillam said the choice to perform Grease was the students, who were vocal in their saying the show was the one that they wanted.

“It came from the kids, they really wanted to do it. They love the music and they know all the songs,” he said.

“I’ve done Grease several times before over the years so I was a bit hesitant to do it but in the end I succumbed to student pressure.

“The kids were over the moon when they heard.”

However, Mr Hillman admitted the popularity of the musical often made attempting a production a problem.

“Everyone already has preconceived ideas about what Grease is and it is a challenge to make it a fresh and new production,” he said.

“But the school have been great, they have given us the time and budget to do this as professionally as we can and so far it’s just great.”

Rehearsals commenced at the beginning of the year and Mr Hillman, who is assisted by Lara Calbria in directing, said he was impressed with the talented students in the cast.

“We have a whole new crop of talent coming through, but Giorgia De Paoli who is playing Sandy and Jack Martin who is playing Danny have had some experience,” he said. “Jack recently won a CAT award, and he and Giorgia have been great leaders to the rookies in the cast.”

Mr Hillman said students participating in musicals often benefited from increased confidence as a result of their experience. “I’ve seen the growth of kids involved in musicals over the years and they have great confidence afterwards,” he said.

Producer Belinda Aventi said the production was a great way to bring the whole school together. “We make every attempt to involve as many students as possible in this wonderful experience,” she said. “Not just of performing onstage but backstage assisting with sets and costumes”.

Tickets for Grease go on sale May 2 at Griffith Regional Theatre. The show will run from Wednesday, June 15 through to Saturday, June 18.